Shrink wrapped two component open end package and shipping carton

ABSTRACT

A generally rectangular shipping package is described comprising a carton having at least five sides, enclosed within a shrunken packaging film which increases the strength of the package and allows the package to be opened at the top without cutting into the products packaged within the carton. The carton is separable into two parts along a horizontal line extending circumferencially near the bottom of the carton to define a display tray when the top portion of the carton i.e., the side wall is removed. The package can be prepared by placing product in a sleeve which forms the carton sidewall, next placing the bottom of the carton over the ends of the product projecting from the sleeve and overwrapping the assembled product and carton with heat shrinkable film to form a tube with portions of the film extending beyond the opposed ends of said carton. The package is then passed through a heating tunnel to shrink the film around the package.

United States Patent 1 [111 3,878,943

Ryan et al. Apr. 22, 1975 1 SHRINK WRAPPED TWO COMPONENT PrimaryExaminer-William 1. Price OPEN END PACKAGE AND SHIPPING CARTONlnventors: Jack A. Ryan; Ross A. Easter: Jack J. Rejsa, all ofMinneapolis. Minn.

Assignee: The Pillsbury Company,

Minneapolis, Minn.

Filed: May 24, 1973 Appl. No.: 363,441

U.S. Cl. 206/497; 206/4533; 53/30 Int. Cl. B65d 65/00 Field of Search206/497, 45.33. 504;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Assistant E.\'aminer-Ro E. HartAttorney, Agent, or Firm-James V. Harmon; Michael D. Ellwein [57]ABSTRACT A generally rectangular shipping package is describedcomprising a carton having at least five sides. enclosed within ashrunken packaging lfilm which increases the strength of the package andallows the package to be opened at the top without cutting into theproducts packaged within the carton. The carton is separable into twoparts along a horizontal line extending circumferencially near thebottom of the carton to define a display tray when the top portion ofthe carton i.e., the side wall is removed. The package can be preparedby placing product in a sleeve which forms the carton sidewall, nextplacing the bottom of the carton over the 'ends of the productprojecting from the sleeve and overwrapping the assembled product andcarton with heat shrinkable film to form a tube with portions of thefilm extending beyond the opposed ends of said carton. The package isthen passed through a heating tunnel to shrink the film around thepackage.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SHRINK WRAPPED TWO COMPONENT OPEN ENDPACKAGE AND SHIPPING CARTON FIELD OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to packages and the method of preparing them. In particular, theinvention relates to packages made of a combination of rigid andflexible packaging materials for packing receptacles such as boxes.

THE PRIOR ART Food products such as cake mixes and other grocery itemsare generally shipped in twelve or twenty-four unit cases. The mostcommon case package is the ordinary cardboard box which is constructedof corru gated paperboard. These boxes have the disadvantage that thecontents cannot be seen and it is difficult to quickly determine thesize. shape and nature of the contents. Labels cannot convey the sameaccurate knowledge of the contents that visual inspection can. Whenopened by a grocery clerk, the knife used sometimes cuts into the innerboxes of cake mix or other food rendering them unfit for sale. Damage iscaused largely because the clerks cut through the tops of the corrugatedboxes using razor knives. Knives are the most effective and common meansof opening these boxes. A very high level of skill and care is needed toopen the boxes without cutting the inner contents.

OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION It is an object of the presentinvention to provide a package for wrapping products in case lots sothat the contents of the package can be readily observed and openedwithout damaging the contents.

The height to which packaged goods can be stacked for storage or fordisplay is dependent upon the weight and strength of the package.Therefore, it is a further object of the present invention to produce alighter and stronger package for case lot goods.

Another object is to provide an improved method of forming packages inaccordance with the present invention in which no special equipment isnecessary to press and hold the box together while the bottom portion ofthe carton is placed on the boxes within the carton.

It is another object to provide a readily opened carton which alsoprovides a complete display tray for supporting and holding boxes withinthe carton after the package is opened.

Another object is to provide sufficient stacking strength to allow fourpallets each containing six layers of boxes to be stacked one on top ofanother.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects are accomplished by thenovel package of the present invention. The package comprises aseparable two-part carton which forms at least five sides of thepackage. The carton is separable along a line spaced somewhat above itsbase thereby defining a top portion comprising a tubular sleeveenclosing four sides and a bottom portion enclosing the bottom of theboxes. The bottom portion includes side walls which extend upward ashort distance from the bottom panel and the separation line is definedas the upper edges of these side walls and the lower abutting edge ofthe sleeve. The product is in this way enclosed on five sides by thecarton at the time it is shipped. The

product and carton are both in turn enclosed in a shrinkable packagingfilm. The film is then shrunk tightly about the product and receptacleand an easily opened package having increased strength results. Theinvention also relates in part to a process for forming and filling suchcartons namely by assembling the articles to be packaged, moving thesleeve and articles relative to one another so as to slide the sleeveover the assembled articles. placing the bottom on the articles whilebeing held together by the sleeve and then shrinking the film over thecarton to press the sleeve against that carton bottom.

THE FIGURES FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically a method of forming containersaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows the blank forming the top portion of the carton.

FIG. 4 shows the bottom blank of the carton.

FIG. 5 shows the bottom of the carton as it is applied to the partiallycompleted package.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The geometric shape of thepackages shown in the drawings is that of a rectangular parallelpiped.However, the invention includes packages having the geometric shape of acube or a parallelpiped. When used herein, the term rectangular includesthese geometric shapes.

The term flexible wrapping material" as used herein generally denotes ashrinkable packaging film. Heat shrinkable films are the most commonshrinkable films but the invention includes solvent shrinkable films.The invention is not limited to a particular film or method of shrinkingfilm. Cross-linked and oriented polyethylene and polypropylene are amongthe better known heat shrinkable films. Also included would be heatshrinkable films of rubber hydrochloride, polyvinyl chloride andpolyvinylidene chloride. Thus, as used herein, the term heat shrinkableincludes films which will shrink upon the application of heat; and theterm oriented" includes both uniaxially and biaxially oriented film.

The rigid packaging materials from which the receptacles of the presentinvention are made include pressed paperboard, corrugated paperboard andgenerally any board-like material made from paper and its derivatives.Also included are rigid materials made from rubber bases and fromorganic synthetic plastics.

In FIG. 2, an embodiment of the invention is shown in which the package10 is preferably made from corrugated paperboard. The package 10 isformed from a carton made of corrugated board which has been prescoredand folded and includes a base portion 13 and sidewall or sleeve portion14. The product which in this case comprises twelve boxes 15 iscompletely enclosed by the package 10 except for the open top. A heatshrinkable, thermoplastic film tubular in shape encloses the boxes 15and the carton 10 except for the opening 12. At the opposed end of thecarton is a similar opening 12 which is not shown.

The heat shrinkable film which encloses the product and carton can be aseamless tube into which the carton and product have been inserted sothat a portion of the tubular film overhangs each end of the package.The tube can also be formed by wrapping the receptacle and product witha sheet of film and then beat sealing of the film ends together. Oncethe carton has been filled, the film is ready to be applied andshrinking process to be performed as shown diagramatically at 16 inFIG. 1. The film is heated so that it will shrink tightly against theexterior walls of the receptacle. One method of shrinking tubular filmto so enclose a product is taught by R. L. Dreyrus in US. Pat. No.3,215,266 issued Nov. 2, 1965. lfa film shrinkable by other means isemployed, then the necessity of heating is eliminated. A solventshrinkable film would eliminate the necessity of heating for instance.

The packages described above which have been prepared according to thepresent invention have compression strength equal to ordinary corrugatedpaperboard boxes having the same wall strength.

The carton described above is of two piece construction and this isdesirable for forming and opening the package according to the preferredmethod. However, the package can be formed by other methods and thereceptacle can be formed from several pieces.

The tubular side wall portion or sleeve 14 of the carton can be bestseen by reference to FIG. 3, which illustrates a blank from which thesleeve is formed. As can be seen, the blank consists of four majorpanels 14a-l4d separated by scores, illustrated by dotted lines wherefolds are made to define the corners of the package and a seam is formedby a tab 14e which is sealed during fabrication to the free verticaledge of the panel 14a to form the sleeve or tube. The tab l4e can beeliminated if a tape (not shown) is employed to seal the adjacentabutting edges of the tube 14 to itself. In this case, the tab Me isglued to the adjacent underlying edge of the panel 14a.

Refer now to FIG. 4 which illustrates the bottom part 13 of the carton.The bottom consists of a central rectangular panel 13a defining thebottom of the finished package and four major peripheral flaps l3b-13e.The flaps 13c-l3e have tabs 13f-l3i, respectively, at their side marginsso that when all of the peripheral flaps are turned upwardly, their endscan be sealed together by means of the tabs l3f-l3i. Because of therelatively small amount of overlap, it will be understood that thecorrugated carton itself can be made of substantially less material thanrequired in conventional cardboard boxes in which the entire top andbottom of the carton normally consists of two overlapped layers ofmaterial where the flaps are folded over one another. The top and bottomof the carton abutt on line B.

A preferred method of forming the package is to form the blank 14 into atube. This is done conventionally. The completed tubes can be stacked ina flat condition. In a similar manner the bottom portion of the carton13 is formed by folding tabs 13bl3e upwardly and sealing the tabs13f-13i to the adjacent flaps. The remaining portion of the process canbe seen best by reference to FIG. 1. As seen in the Figure, the packagedproduct for example boxes of cake mix 15, are placed on an endlessconveyor 52 and carried from left to right as seen in the figure untilthey reach an assembly station defined by the fixed stop 54. The boxesare then moved laterally i.e., at right angles to the direction oftravel of conveyor 52 by means of a reciprocating pusher 56 of theproper size to move six boxes at a time in the direction shown by arrow57 onto a slide table 58 where the boxes accumulate in groups of 12 asshown at 60. This is accomplished by providing a bar conveyor includingbars 62 which are timed with relationship to the operation of the pusher56 so as to engage each second group of six boxes transferred onto thetable 58 whereby they are transferred, twelve at a time, away from theviewer as seen in the figure.

When the group of twelve boxes 15 arrive at the position designated 70,relative motion is then established between the group and the sleeve toslide the group into the sleeve. This can be done by sliding the sleeveby hand downwardly over the group of boxes until it reaches the bottomedge of the group. The tops of the boxes extend above the top edge ofthe sleeve as seen at 72. When the partially formed package slides offthe end of the table 58 it travels around a right angle turn rollerassembly 74 until it reaches a second slide table 76. The packages areadvanced across the top of the table by a second conveyor of anysuitable construction such as a bar conveyor 78.

The bottom portion of the carton 13 is applied next as can be best seenin FIG. 5. For this purpose, a slide ramp is provided to carry a seriesof the preformed bottoms 13 to an applicator station 82. To assist inplacing the bottoms on the boxes, a movable stop 84 is provided whichillustrates one of the several different possible automatic devices forapplying the bottoms of the cartons to the package. The stop ispivotally supported at 86 from any fixed object and includes a verticalarm 84a having a carton engaging wheel 84b positioned to initially limitthe downward sliding movement of the carton bottom 13 and thereby holdit in the proper position to engage the exposed ends of the boxes 15 asthe carton travels from right to left as seen in FIG. 5. When the boxesstrike the inside of the carton bottom 13, the stop 84 will pivot to thedotted line position of FIG. 5. As the stop begins to move, a snubber 88at the end of a piece of a steel leaf spring 89 secured to the top 84above the pivot 86 will engage the upper surface of the carton bottomimmediately beneath it and will prevent this carton bottom from slidingdown the ramp 80 until tahe carton has passed the wheel 84b and thewheel itself is returned to its normal position as shown in solid lines.

The carton will at this point be in an inverted position. After it isturned over, it is passed through the shrink wrap machine 16 where thefilm 11 is applied, sealed and shrunk in place thereby preventing boxes15 from being withdrawn from the top of the carton. The pressure of thefilm 11 as it is drawn into place holds the sleeve 14 tightly againstthe upper free edge of thebottom portion of the carton 13 along theseparation line B and it is in large part the pressure of the twoportions of the carton against one another which provides the requisitestacking strength.

It can thus be seen that the packages in accordance with the presentinvention can be easily formed by semiautomatic equipment, they allowthe tops of the boxes inside to be readily seen but protect them fromcontamination from the outside. It will also be seen that since thesleeve 14 is applied first, the bottom portion 13 of the carton can bereadily applied over the ends of the boxes 15 without a specialapparatus required to hold the boxes together. Moreover, the inventionallows the grocery store clerk to quickly open the packages by runninghis knife around the periphery of the package slightly below the top,usually an inch or two below the top of the box. He need not make a deepcut at this point, since merely by cutting the film 11 using a veryshallow cut, the film can be readily removed. In an actual test, it wasfound that the damage done to the boxes by opening knives used bygrocery store clerks was almost entirely eliminated. It was found thatgrocery store clerks cut 7 percent of the inside boxes before theinvention was used, and only 1 /2 percent in cartons utilizing thepresent invention. Once the film is removed the upper portion 14 of thecarton can be readily removed by sliding it upwardly. This leaves theboxes in the bottom portion of the carton 13 which functions as a trayfor supporting and displaying the products in the store.

The invention also provides a package having compressive strengthsubstantially equal to ordinary cardboard boxes. The increased degree ofstrength is due in large part to the compressive force of the film 11 onthe two parts of the separable carton at the separation line 15.

The top of an ordinary cardboard box consists in most instances of adouble layer of corrugated board formed by overlapped flaps. This isentirely eliminated by the present invention. One layer normally foundis also eliminated less the small amount of overlap used in the tabs13f-13i. Thus, the cost of the present package is no more than anordinary cardboard box due to the elimination of the large areas ofoverlapping flap material.

In addition, the packages of the present invention are suitable for usewith a clamp action pickup device which consists of mechanicallyactuated arms having pads adapted to engage the sides of the carton.This enables packages embodying the invention to be shipped withoutpallets.

In one specific example of the invention, the inner corrugated carton iscorrugated fiberboard. The bottom portion 13 has sidewalls (flaps13b-13e) two inches high. The sleeve 14 extends the remaining height ofthe boxes 15. The material used for the tray and sleeve has a Mullinburst strength in excess of 125 lbs. per square inch and complies withsections 2 and 3 of Rule 41 of the Uniform Freight Classification. Theinner boxes 15 are held together within the carton by a unilaterallyoriented polyethylene film 11 two mils thick tightly shrunk around thecarton and boxes. The film completely encircles the package except forthe holes 12 provided at the end. The film is shrunk not less than 60percent in the lateral direction and has a minimum tinsel strength of2600 p.s.i. or more and minimum elongation before break of not less than650 per cent before being applied. The Elmandorf tear strength of thefilm is 350 grams or more per mil and the film is provided with ananti-slip surface of any well-known commercially available kind. Thegross weight of the package is 14 pounds or less. The strength of thecarton is sufficient to allow about 24 cartons to be stacked one on topof one another i.e., 322 lbs. allowing a safety factor of about 300percent.

It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that sincecorrugated board is not scored and bent at the top to form top flaps,but is instead cut flush with the top of the boxes 15, the invention atleast theoretically provides more stacking strength than ordinary boxes.

What is claimed is:

1. A package for case lot quantities of goods comprising in combinationa plurality of packaged containers, a rectangular carton formed from atleast two parts which form at least five sides of the package, saidcarton including a tubular sleeve portion comprising a sheet of paperbased board having spaced parallel fold lines therein to define theedges of the carton walls, said sheet having its ends bonded together todefine a tube, said carton also having a bottom portion including aflat, rectangular center section and upwardly extending side walls whichare relatively short in height compared with the width and length of thepackage, the edges of the side walls being bonded to one another attheir ends to define corners of the bottom portion of the carton and thelower edge of the tubular sleeve portion of the carton being cut toabutt against the upper edge of the side walls of the bottom to form aseparation line extending around the entire circumference of the cartonand being defined by the upper edge of the sleeve and a packaging filmshrunk tightly about the product and the carton to press the sleeve downagainst the upper edge of the side walls to thereby hold the sleeve andcarton bottom under compression along the separation line.

2. Package according to claim 1 wherein the film is a transparent filmheat shrunk over the carton and the carton contents.

3. The package of claim 1 wherein the sleeve comprises a rectangularsleeve having four panels foldably related and a seam extending from thetop to the bottom thereof securing the edges of the sleeve together.

4. The package of claim 1 wherein the carton bottom is generallytray-shaped and includes a rectangular bottom panel and four verticallyextending side walls having a relatively short height compared with theoverall length and width of the package and having a cut upper edgeextending parallel to the bottom of the package, the edges of the bottompanel being sealed together along their adjacent vertical edges to formthe corners of the carton bottom.

5. The package according to claim 4 wherein the side walls are sealedtogether at the side edges by means of tabs extending horizontally fromthe side walls and bonded to the adjacent portion of the adjacent sidewall.

6. A method of forming a shipping carton comprising the steps ofproviding a tubular sleeve composed of stiff fibrous packaging materialand having at least four fold lines running from one edge to the otherin parallel relationship, providing a carton bottom having a rectangularbottom panel and four vertically extending side walls bonded together attheir adjacent edges, assembling the containers to be placed in thepackage in a group having a predetermined height, width and length,establishing relative motion between the sleeve and the containers toslide the sleeve onto the group thus assembled until the group ofcontainers is enclosed thereby and is retained in an assembledrelationship with the ends of the containers projecting from one end ofthe sleeve, thereafter placing the carton bottom over the projectingends of the cartons that project from the sleeve while they are retainedin the assembled containers in their assembled condition and press thesleeve against the vertically extending; side walls of the bottomportions of the carton thereby strengthening the walls of the cartonformed by the combination sleeve and panels to provide a compressivestrength substantially in excess of the same two piece carton withoutthe film shrunk thereover.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the film is a thin plastic packagingfilm and is shrunk over the filled carton by heating the same.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the sleeve is placed over the assembledcontainers with the assembled containers in an inverted position and thebottom is thereafter applied while the sleeve and containers remain inan inverted position.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein the film is a plastic packaging filmadapted to shrink upon the application of heat, and heat is applied tothe film after being wrapped over the package to thereby shrink the sameonto the carton and the sleeve and the bottom portion of the carton areboth applied while the contents of the carton are in an invertedposition.

10. The method according to claim 9 wherein the carton bottom is appliedby providing a slide for the carton bottom to slide under the influenceof gravity to a predetermined position, the carton is advanced beneaththis predetermined position with the contents thereof extending upwardlyin a position adapted to engage one inside edge of the carton bottomwhile in said predetermined position and thereby withdraw the cartonbottom from slide allowing the carton bottom to come to rest on top ofthat portion of the contents within the sleeve extending from the endthereof.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 1 5 3,878 ,943Dated April 22 97 Jack A. Ryan et al Patent No.

Inventor(s) It is certified that error appears in the above-identifiedpatent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Columns 6 and 7 claim 6 should appear as shown below:

6 A method of forming a shipping carton comprising the steps ofproviding a tubular sleeve composed of stiff fibrous packaging materialand having at least four fold lines running from one edge to the otherin paralled relationship, providing a carton bottom having a rectangularbottom panel and four vertically extending side walls bonded together attheir adjacent edges assembling the containers to be placed in thepackage in a group having a predetermined height, width and length,establishing relative motion between the sleeve and the containers toslide the sleeve onto the group thus assembled until the group ofcontainers is enclosed thereby and is retained in an assembledrelationship with the ends of the containers projecting from one end ofthe sleeve thereafter placing the carton bottom over the projecting endsof the cartons that FORM PO-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-1 69 U.5iGOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 8 9 93 o UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 878 943 Dated April 22 1975 Jack A.Ryan et a1. Page 2 Inventor(s) It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

project from the sleeve while they are retained in the assembledcontainers in their assembled condition and shrinking a plastic filmthereover to press the sleeve against the vertically eictending sidewalls of the bottom portions of the carton thereby strengtheiiing thewalls of the carton formed by the combination sleeve and panels toprovide a compressive strength substantially in excess of the same twopiece carton without the film shrunk thereover.

Column 8, claim 10 should appear as shown below:

10. The method according to claim 9 wherein the. carton bottom isapplied by providing a slide for the carton bottom to slide upon underthe influence of gravity to a predetermined position, the assembledcontainers are advanced beneath said predetermined position with theirFORM PO-IOSO (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-1 69 U.$ GOVERNMENT PRINTINGOFFICE: 869- 93 0 Patent No. 3,878,943 Dated April 22, 1975 Jack A. Ryanet a1 Page 3 Inventor(s) It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

ends extending upwardly in a position adapted to engage one inside edgeof the carton bottom while in said predetermined position and therebywithdraw the carton bottom from said slide allowing the carton bottom tocome to rest on top of that portion of the containers within the sleeveeQ ctending from the end thereof.

Signed and Scaled this twenty-ninth Day Of July 1975 [SEAL] A ttesr:

RUTH c. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Arresting Officer ('mnmisxinner ofPatents and Trazlwnurks FORM PO-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC sows-P69 U.S.GOVERNMENT FRINTING OFFICE: o

1. A package for case lot quantities of goods comprising in combinationa plurality of packaged containers, a rectangular carton formed from atleast two parts which form at least five sides of the package, saidcarton including a tubular sleeve portion comprising a sheet of paperbased board having spaced parallel fold lines therein to define theedges of the carton walls, said sheet having its ends bonded together todefine a tube, said carton also having a bottom portion including aflat, rectangular center section and upwardly extending side walls whichare relatively short in height compared with the width and length of thepackage, the edges of the side walls being bonded to one another attheir ends to define corners of the bottom portion of the carton and thelower edge of the tubular sleeve portion of the carton being cut toabutt against the upper edge of the side walls of the bottom to form aseparation line extending around the entire circumference of the cartonand being defined by the upper edge of the sleeve and a packaging filmshrunk tightly about the product and the carton to press the sleeve downagainst the upper edge of the side walls to thereby hold the sleeve andcarton bottom under compression along the separation line.
 1. A packagefor case lot quantities of goods comprising in combination a pluralityof packaged containers, a rectangular carton formed from at least twoparts which form at least five sides of the package, said cartonincluding a tubular sleeve portion comprising a sheet of paper basedboard having spaced parallel fold lines therein to define the edges ofthe carton walls, said sheet having its ends bonded together to define atube, said carton also having a bottom portion including a flat,rectangular center section and upwardly extending side walls which arerelatively short in height compared with the width and length of thepackage, the edges of the side walls being bonded to one another attheir ends to define corners of the bottom portion of the carton and thelower edge of the tubular sleeve portion of the carton being cut toabutt against the upper edge of the side walls of the bottom to form aseparation line extending around the entire circumference of the cartonand being defined by the upper edge of the sleeve and a packaging filmshrunk tightly about the product and the carton to press the sleeve downagainst the upper edge of the side walls to thereby hold the sleeve andcarton bottom under compression along the separation line.
 2. Packageaccording to claim 1 wherein the film is a transparent film heat shrunkover the carton and the carton contents.
 3. The package of claim 1wherein the sleeve comprises a reCtangular sleeve having four panelsfoldably related and a seam extending from the top to the bottom thereofsecuring the edges of the sleeve together.
 4. The package of claim 1wherein the carton bottom is generally tray-shaped and includes arectangular bottom panel and four vertically extending side walls havinga relatively short height compared with the overall length and width ofthe package and having a cut upper edge extending parallel to the bottomof the package, the edges of the bottom panel being sealed togetheralong their adjacent vertical edges to form the corners of the cartonbottom.
 5. The package according to claim 4 wherein the side walls aresealed together at the side edges by means of tabs extendinghorizontally from the side walls and bonded to the adjacent portion ofthe adjacent side wall.
 6. A method of forming a shipping cartoncomprising the steps of providing a tubular sleeve composed of stifffibrous packaging material and having at least four fold lines runningfrom one edge to the other in parallel relationship, providing a cartonbottom having a rectangular bottom panel and four vertically extendingside walls bonded together at their adjacent edges, assembling thecontainers to be placed in the package in a group having a predeterminedheight, width and length, establishing relative motion between thesleeve and the containers to slide the sleeve onto the group thusassembled until the group of containers is enclosed thereby and isretained in an assembled relationship with the ends of the containersprojecting from one end of the sleeve, thereafter placing the cartonbottom over the projecting ends of the cartons that project from thesleeve while they are retained in the assembled containers in theirassembled condition and press the sleeve against the verticallyextending side walls of the bottom portions of the carton therebystrengthening the walls of the carton formed by the combination sleeveand panels to provide a compressive strength substantially in excess ofthe same two piece carton without the film shrunk thereover.
 7. Themethod of claim 6 wherein the film is a thin plastic packaging film andis shrunk over the filled carton by heating the same.
 8. The method ofclaim 7 wherein the sleeve is placed over the assembled containers withthe assembled containers in an inverted position and the bottom isthereafter applied while the sleeve and containers remain in an invertedposition.
 9. The process of claim 8 wherein the film is a plasticpackaging film adapted to shrink upon the application of heat, and heatis applied to the film after being wrapped over the package to therebyshrink the same onto the carton and the sleeve and the bottom portion ofthe carton are both applied while the contents of the carton are in aninverted position.